When Jermichael Finley said he wanted to "freestyle" in 2012, this wasn't what he had in mind.

Drops. A midseason disappearing act. Sound bites that set his fan base ablaze.

There's been more frustration than freestylin.' Yet in light of a Journal Sentinel report that the Green Bay Packers tight end will be released or traded after the season, Finley is producing. After Sunday's 55-7 win over Tennessee, Finley said he "no doubt" views the rest of Green Bay's games as a chance to prove his worth to management.

"I want to be a Packer for life," Finley said. "I'll say it until my face is blue. I love it here."

If Finley's days in Green Bay are numbered, he's starting to make them count. Against the Titans, Finley had five catches for 70 yards. More telling, quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw to him eight times - the most targets Finley has had since the season opener. His future in Green Bay murky, Finley says this past month he has been playing more relaxed.

The numbers back him up. Finley has 324 yards on 24 catches his last six games after only 138 yards on 14 catches the previous six.

"I've been doing this since I was 5 years old," Finley said. "Just go back to my junior high and high school days and play my ball. If I do that, everything else will take care of itself. I know that deep down."

Before heading to Lambeau Field on game day, Finley says his wife tells him to "relax, relax, relax, relax." On Sunday morning, she "beat it in me," he said.

And against Tennessee, Finley did appear loose. Even his one "drop" led to laughs instead of boos. After nearly making a circus, one-handed catch up the right sideline, Finley jumped up in excitement - fully knowing the ball hit the ground.

"I need to be an actor," Finley joked later. "Hopefully I get to Hollywood this off-season and get it going."

Academy Awards aside, Finley excelled in the Packers' no-huddle offense. Playing on instincts, adrenaline, on the run, Finley caught passes of 23, 14 and 2 yards through Green Bay's final first-half possession. After the two first downs, Finley made a benign first-down signal. He said he's saving his "fin" celebration for the postseason.

Overall, he'd like to see Green Bay use the no-huddle more.

"Our no-huddle offense is our bell cow," Finley said. "We need to use it right now going into this postseason. We have single-tight end, a little double-tight end no huddle. So it was all great today. It gets defenses tired, gets them lackadaisical. We can get them on their heels and try to make a play downfield."

Coach Mike McCarthy planned to run 10 series of no-huddle and it worked.

"They challenged us, they came after us with pressure," McCarthy said. "We saw a lot of three-shell coverages. They played us aggressively and I thought we did a good job of staying with the run/pass mix. And obviously, we were very productive."

Personally, he's done a few things differently. During warm-ups, Finley is practicing specific types of catches. At his locker, he moves his arms around to demonstrate.

Along the way, he may be regaining Rodgers' trust. After the tight end's rash of drops early in the season, the ball stopped coming his way. Rarely did Rodgers drive the ball downfield to Finley

He hasn't had as many drops, but he's no longer explosive like he used to be.

Better than Donald Lee, but not really worth what he's getting paid.

He's not as explosive because we have not been able to get teams out of that double deep safety look. There's nothing wrong with Finley - he just gets on the nerves of people like us for his hot dog antics. I like his resurgence and think that Jennings is gone next year and Finley sticks. Would like to keep them all, but Cobb has made that impossible - not enough footballs to go around.

He's not as explosive because we have not been able to get teams out of that double deep safety look. There's nothing wrong with Finley - he just gets on the nerves of people like us for his hot dog antics. I like his resurgence and think that Jennings is gone next year and Finley sticks. Would like to keep them all, but Cobb has made that impossible - not enough footballs to go around.

Haven't been able to watch the last two games, but it was my understanding the Bears came out of the double deep safely look quite a bit.

“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”

He's not as explosive because we have not been able to get teams out of that double deep safety look. There's nothing wrong with Finley - he just gets on the nerves of people like us for his hot dog antics. I like his resurgence and think that Jennings is gone next year and Finley sticks. Would like to keep them all, but Cobb has made that impossible - not enough footballs to go around.

I don't think he has lost any explosion. He is tied for 6th in the league of 20+ yard receptions.

Has had a really strong end of the season. 4 of the last 5 games his stat sheet has looked very nice. Overall he is still a top 10 tight end in the league. This postseason could go a long way towards his future with the Packers. You can argue the 2 touchdowns is pedestrian for a top tier TE, but heck, Witten only has 3 touchdowns on almost twice the receptions. On other teams Finley may have a bigger stat line because of less talent around him. To me that does not diminish his value for the Packers.

I don't think he has lost any explosion. He is tied for 6th in the league of 20+ yard receptions.

Has had a really strong end of the season. 4 of the last 5 games his stat sheet has looked very nice. Overall he is still a top 10 tight end in the league. This postseason could go a long way towards his future with the Packers. You can argue the 2 touchdowns is pedestrian for a top tier TE, but heck, Witten only has 3 touchdowns on almost twice the receptions. On other teams Finley may have a bigger stat line because of less talent around him. To me that does not diminish his value for the Packers.

Let's see how he does in the playoffs.

“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”

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